The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitian and 6,000 Syrian immigrants on Thursday in a 6-3 decision.
Temporary Protected Status, established by Congress in 1990, shields individuals from deportation when their home countries face armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions. Haiti has held the designation since 2010 following its earthquake, while Syria has maintained it since 2012 due to its civil war.
Official Response
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani strongly criticized the ruling, stating “The Supreme Court just sparked one of the largest attacks on immigrants in modern American history,” in a statement Thursday.
Mamdani emphasized the impact on New York City’s immigrant communities. “These are people who fled earthquakes, famine, war and political violence,” he said. “They built lives here. They raised families here. They opened small businesses, attended church and mosque, looked after their neighbors.”
The mayor’s office committed to supporting affected immigrants through its legal assistance hotline and vowed continued city support. “To the tens of thousands of New Yorkers with TPS who are watching the news, frightened about what comes next, hear me clearly: New York City is your home,” Mamdani said.
Broader Implications
The ruling carries significant consequences beyond Haiti and Syria. The Trump administration has already moved to terminate TPS for approximately one million people from 13 countries, including roughly 650,000 Venezuelans and 50,000 Hondurans.
Decisions remain pending for approximately 200,000 Salvadorans and 100,000 Ukrainians whose protections expire in coming months. The court’s decision could signal willingness to uphold the administration’s broader effort to end TPS protections for roughly 1.3 million immigrants from 17 countries total.
Legal Expert Concerns
Immigration attorneys warned of far-reaching consequences from the decision. “The decision is definitely bad news,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of UCLA’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy, who represented Syrian TPS holders. “The implication is that most claims challenging this administration’s actions on TPS are now foreclosed.”
Lawyers representing TPS recipients maintain both Haiti and Syria remain unsafe due to ongoing instability and argue the administration failed to properly evaluate conditions before ending protections.
Timeline and Next Steps
Although the ruling allows the administration to proceed, the decision is not expected to take effect immediately. Supreme Court rulings generally become effective 32 days after issuance, and the case must return to lower courts for implementation.
Haitian and Syrian TPS holders are expected to retain work authorization until at least late July. Advocates encourage affected individuals to explore other legal pathways, including asylum or employment-based visas, though they acknowledge those options have become increasingly limited.
Some are urging congressional action. “We call on Congress to immediately restore these vital humanitarian protections that the TPS program represents,” attorney Melissa Keenan said, “for the sake of our clients and TPS holders, their families, and all of our communities.”
This story has been updated. CNN’s reporting team contributed to this report.
